Heart Game: Intensity (Turn 2)

[idolpro]

In the beginning, there is nothing but darkness and silence. A sleep that gives no rest but one out of necessity in order to keep functioning. Behind closed eyelids, the numbers of a clock tick down - one painstaking second at a time.

TIME UNTIL REBOOT:


And then you wake up.

As you shift to a standing position, you feel something sharp and pointed press against your side. Digging into the nearest pocket, you will find two small puzzle pieces. And from their odd shape, it looks like they would fit into a 3D spherical puzzle. Odd. You've never seen them before, but you do get a sense that these are a currency of some sort. Spend them wisely!

Game start.

Comments

Re: Central CPU Core

[rollplayinghouse]

[Looking at rebooted Intensity as she exits the elevator still hand-in-hand with small Intensity]

Ah... you're awake.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Yes. I'm awake.

Did you need anything?

[rollplayinghouse]

...Mostly I wanted to make sure you were okay.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Standard reboot. Part of my regularly scheduled maintenance.

So.

Nothing to worry about.

[rollplayinghouse]

...That's good.

There are a lot more people running around than I'd think would be regular, so...

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[ That makes him tilt his head to the side ]

I guess they did allow third-party inputs this time around. But--

[ Shrugs. Can't tell what they were so it must be fine! ]

[rollplayinghouse]

[unsure]

Well... If you're sure.

Are you busy?

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Somewhat.

There's a backlog of tasks in the queue because of the reboot.

[rollplayinghouse]

What kind of tasks do you do...?

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Leader node. Load balancing and task distribution. I relay inputs from all the other parts of the Heart which then feed into the final decision.

[rollplayinghouse]

I see.

And if the inputs are in conflict, how do you make the final decision...?

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Prime directives as dictated by the BIOS.

[rollplayinghouse]

[she's not sure what she expected]

What's a BIOS?

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[ It's probably easier if he just shows it to her. The screen lights up. ]

BIOS

Current Prime Directives:
1. Protect family
2. Acquire King of Hell title
3. Protect rival
4. Employee retirement plan
5. Protect unit
6. Protect priority people outside unit
7. Regain prior self
8. Pursuit of happiness
9. Win to live, Live to Win, for the sake of self and others.
10. Acquire a Blue Eyes Tattoo, live best life.

How may I be of assistance?

[1] - Add new prime directive - Offline
[2] - Delete existing prime directive - Offline
[3] - Re-order prime directives - Offline

Warning: Threshold change tolerance is 20%. Exceeding this tolerance may result in unstable system performance.

Press [ESC] to return to the previous menu.

[ The last two were added by C, by the way ]

[rollplayinghouse]

[She stares at the screen a while before responding. The last two are a little concerning, but not too concerning, and at least they're at the bottom of the list. She's more focused on "pursuit of happiness" being that low, and also, she's not family or a rival, so—]

...Am I just under "priority people outside unit?"

[her voice wavers slightly.]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Well you were under "employee retirement program". Future Queen of Hell, Prince of Vengeance, plus one house as extra benefits.

But you seemed unsatisfied with that role.

So I suppose you'll have to undergo a new classification as of the next reboot.

[rollplayinghouse]

...It's not that I don't want to be Queen of Hell. But that shouldn't be either an employee or a retirement.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Could have fooled me. You didn't seem interested in the offer.

[rollplayinghouse]

Because that's how you were offering it. I'd achieved what I was supposed to, so I'd sign on as your employee and get magically rewarded with what I wanted. I'm not interested in that.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Then what do you want, Glory?

[rollplayinghouse]

I've told you. I want to be someone who can... be at your right hand.

If you're going to rule over Hell, your work isn't going to stop. But I won't let that mean you have to be at the top alone handing out orders.

And when I talk about my house... It's something I want to build. I mean, not physically, but—I want to make a place that people can live and want to be. If it has to be a mansion in the Hell capitol with a bunch of security or whatever, that's fine. That's not the important part.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Then I don't understand. That is what I was trying to give you.

[rollplayinghouse]

...You can't give it to me. It's not a wish, or a present, or a request. It's something I have to do.

All I want from you is to give me the opportunity to do it.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Then I'll wait for your signal.

[rollplayinghouse]

It's not really a signal kind of thing. Just...

[huffs]

I don't know. Just don't go off on your own.